Australia

SA Water’s highly ambitious $300 million solar uptake is proving a golden goose as a partnership with Succession Ecology to revegetate almost a tonne of native seedlings under large-scale solar arrays proves a win-win. The ground-mounted modules mean native vegetation can return to formerly agricultural land, and the native scrub itself protects PV panels from soiling.

Logan City Council has passed the 1 MW milestone of solar capacity on Council-owned buildings after the completion of a 100 kW install atop Logan North Aquatic Centre. The Council has plans to more than double that mark in the next year alone, however, some planned installations may fall victim to Covid-19 inspired cutbacks.

Commercialisation of hydrogen production is a Government priority. Today seven applicants for ARENA funding of large-scale hydrogen proposals made it through to the next round, in which they will submit full applications for projects that will be expected to commence construction in 2022.

With Australians spending more time at home during the day as a result of COVID-induced restrictions, many are questioning the impact of shifting energy demand patterns on the solar curve. Byron Serjeantson, Regional Manager at Flow Power considers the potential outcomes of these changes.

Digital technologies are enabling integration of vast volumes of data, to provide sophisticated modelling of projects, arriving at highest yield and lowest levelised cost of energy. An Australian leader in the field, Aurecon has been recognised for the innovation of its siteLab software in bringing far-flung stakeholders and disparate sources of information into the one virtual reality.

As new forms of renewable energy mature, strong standards governing safety, storage, transport and more help to build confidence in each industry sector. Here Daniel Chidgey, Head of Stakeholder Engagement at Standards Australia outlines the latest guidance for hydrogen, energy storage and ocean energy.

The University of Queensland-owned and developed utility-scale Warwick Solar Farm is complete, bringing together the University’s ambitions to not only become 100% renewably powered, but to provide hands-on learning, research and development opportunities for generations of students seeking fulfilling employment that contributes to a greener future.

Western Australia’s Horizon Power is relatively unique among electric utilities – it supplies small cities, big and small agricultural and mining operations, and some of the most remote indigenous communities in the world. It has been a genuine pioneer in delivering cheaper, cleaner power through a combination of renewables and energy storage. It’s also awake to the opportunities for solar and storage to empower the Aboriginal and Torres-Strait Islander communities it serves, explains Horizon’s Roanna Edwards.

The ability to feed electricity from rooftop PV arrays into the distribution network may be severely limited in the future, as installations appear likely to exceed expectations. A Cornwall Insight forecast sees some 24.45 GW of rooftop solar to be added through 2030 – a rate at which accelerates the need for a distribution-level market and may see connections curtailed in the future.

Testing is currently underway at the  Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, recently expanded to 150MW/193.5MWh. With the added capability to provide grid inertia, owner Neoen reports that it will support the grid and reduce curtailment affecting its wind farm assets in the state. pv magazine Australia spoke to Romain Desrousseaux – the company’s deputy CEO and head of international development – about the expansion.